{"id":103569,"date":"2025-08-28T16:46:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T16:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/103569\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T16:46:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T16:46:14","slug":"cost-of-weight-loss-drug-mounjaro-to-be-discounted-in-uk-pharmacies-when-price-hike-comes-into-force-sky-news-learns-science-climate-tech-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/103569\/","title":{"rendered":"Cost of weight-loss drug Mounjaro to be discounted in UK pharmacies when price hike comes into force, Sky News learns | Science, Climate & Tech News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cost of Mounjaro, one of Britain’s biggest-selling weight loss drugs, will be heavily discounted across UK pharmacies when the official list price soars next week, Sky News has learned.<\/p>\n

We’ve seen a confidential document from the makers Eli Lilly to pharmacies setting out the scheme, with a saving of \u00a383 on the cost of the maximum dose.<\/p>\n

It would take some of the sting out of the sharp price hike previously announced by the pharmaceutical giant.<\/p>\n

But, under the new plans, the cost will still double for the 15mg top dose, rising from \u00a3122 a month to \u00a3247.50 from 1 September. The price of the highest dose was set to go up 170%, from \u00a3122 to \u00a3330.<\/p>\n

Lower doses will get smaller discounts.<\/p>\n

Eli Lilly confirmed the scheme.<\/p>\n

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Image:
\n File pic: Reuters<\/p>\n

In a statement to Sky News, it said: “We are working with private providers on commercial arrangements to maintain affordability and expect these to be passed onto patients when the change is effective on 1 September.<\/p>\n

“We are already seeing providers respond in different ways to the list price change, with a range of options available for eligible patients.”<\/p>\n

Read more:
Mounjaro manufacturer pauses UK shipments of weight loss<\/a>
What are weight loss jabs and what were they designed to do?<\/a><\/p>\n

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n

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1:31<\/p>\n

Weight loss jabs tested<\/p>\n

Many obese patients have been thrown by the sharp rise in the cost of the drug, announced with just two weeks’ warning.<\/p>\n

More than 1.25 million people in the UK are taking weight loss drugs, the vast majority of them paying privately because NHS provision is severely limited.<\/p>\n

Around 90% of them are currently taking weekly injections of Mounjaro – also known by its generic name tirzepatide.<\/p>\n

Clinical trials show people lose 20% of their weight in a matter of months. The alternative drug Wegovy leads to weight loss of 15%.<\/p>\n

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Reece Maddick has been taking Mounjaro since November, when he weighed 24st (152kg). He has since lost more than 6st (38kg), with a dramatic improvement to his physical and mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n

He stockpiled a two-month supply when he heard the price was rising, but he isn’t sure he can afford to continue treatment beyond that.<\/p>\n

“It does petrify me,” he said. “I don’t want to go back to where I was eight or nine months ago.”<\/p>\n

He recently missed a weekly dose and almost immediately found his appetite returning.<\/p>\n

“I fear just from that week missing it,” he said. “I think it’s like jumping off a cliff, and you’re back to square one. I’d put all the weight back on. No doubt in my mind.”<\/p>\n

The online pharmacy CheqUp is shipping 4,000 orders for weight-loss drugs every day from its base in Chippenham, Wiltshire. Almost all are for Mounjaro.<\/p>\n

It thinks most users will switch to Wegovy because it will be cheaper than Mounjaro from next month.<\/p>\n

But they fear others will take risks with their health to try to save money.<\/p>\n

James Hunt, the pharmacy’s director, said: “We would urge absolutely everybody to avoid the black market, to avoid beauticians offering to give you injections of semaglutide (Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro). Absolutely do not do that.<\/p>\n

“We would also urge people not to microdose, not to skip weeks.<\/p>\n

“If you’re taking a medication you need to use that medication as it’s been instructed and designed to be used clinically.”<\/p>\n

The price rise followed complaints by US President Donald Trump that “foreign freeloaders” were getting a better deal on medicines than Americans, with the White House pressuring pharmaceutical giants to increase the price of the drug abroad so it can be made cheaper in the US.<\/p>\n

Eli Lilly said the UK was one of the first countries to roll out Mounjaro, and the list price had been significantly lower than the European average.<\/p>\n

In a statement, it said: “We are now aligning the list price more consistently to ensure fair global contribution to the cost of innovation.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cost of Mounjaro, one of Britain’s biggest-selling weight loss drugs, will be heavily discounted across UK pharmacies…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[49,48,84,377],"class_list":{"0":"post-103569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-medication"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}